Alec Loorz is part of the Inconvenient Youth Advisory Board and a Presenter for The Climate Project. He’s been part of IY since day one and we wouldn’t be where we are without him. This May, he’s organizing a worldwide event of extreme importance to the climate movement. We want you to get involved. But enough from me, hear it from Alec himself:

My name is Alec Loorz. I’m 16 years old, and I am a climate change activist. I’ve spent my entire teenage life traveling around our planet talking to my peers about global climate change. And I’m now planning an international event called the iMatter March, happening May 8 of this year.

Climate change is the most urgent issue of our time. Our society’s addiction to fossil fuels is messing with the perfect balance of nature and threatening the survival of our generation. It needs to stop, and we will not sit idly by as our leaders make decisions that affect our future.

So on May 8, we will march. The youth will rise up in our communities and let the world know that climate change is not about money. It’s not about politics. It’s not about convenience. It is about our survival. It’s about the future of this and every generation to come. And we are ready to do whatever it takes to change it.

There will be marches in cities all over the world, everywhere from New York to New Delhi to Canton, Georgia to Mexico City. And we need you to march with us.

We are looking for march organizers in cities all across the world. You don’t need to have any experience in organizing — all you need is passion, commitment, and a desire to change the world.

Sign up at iMatterMarch.org to lead a march in your community.

We matter. This is our time.

Watch this video to learn more.

From the Repower America Blog:

I’ve got some exciting news to share: Former Vice President Al Gore will be delivering the opening keynote at Power Shift 2011. So what is Power Shift?

This spring thousands of young people will converge in Washington, DC for Power Shift 2011. We’ll come together to create a vision to take our movement forward, learn from and train one-another on campaigns and tactics, and take bold action to create a clean energy economy.

I attended Power Shift in 2007 and 2009 and was amazed by the energy in the crowd. The conference starts in three weeks — click here to register now.

In addition to Alliance for Climate Protection Chairman Al Gore, Power Shift has several other impressive speakers lined up, including EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Bill McKibben and Van Jones.

Will you be attending Power Shift to see Vice President Gore’s speech? We hope to see you there.

What do school assemblies, climate change and cow farts all have in common? Ask our friends at ACE, the Alliance for Climate Education.

ACE is an awesome organization, and a partner of Inconvenient Youth. They give free multimedia assemblies to high schools across the country about the climate crisis and what we can do to stop it. The assemblies are fun, informative and inspiring. Check out this article to learn more about them and find out where the cow farts come in.

Not only is this an assembly like you’ve never seen before, but after they’re done, ACE educators are happy to stick around and help students find ways to take action. ACE helps students set up climate change activist groups in their schools, and has suggestions for all sorts of ways that you can “lower your emissions and raise your voice.”

Another great way to get involved with ACE is to “share your DOT.” DOT stands for “Do One Thing.” The idea is very similar to what we do at IY and Repower at Home: You share an action you’re taking to help our climate. Some examples are to drive less, unplug appliances when you aren’t using them, and carry reusable bottles. Every bit helps, and if we all make small changes it makes a huge difference. Inconvenient Youth and ACE encourage everyone to start by doing one thing to help our climate and to record it by sharing it with your peers.

We know teens like you are doing great work all around the country. So, what are you waiting for? Set up a presentation from ACE at your school; or set up an Inconvenient Youth presentation through The Climate Project.

- Grant

The following blog post was cross-posted at the Repower America blog:

Today’s youth will be affected by climate change more than any other generation alive. Fortunately, though, young people are among the most passionate and active people anywhere dedicated to solving the climate crisis. Case in point: Inconvenient Youth, a youth program of the Alliance for Climate Protection.

Inconvenient Youth is a community of high school-aged teenagers who are leading our society to a clean energy future. Hundreds of teens from over 50 countries, have joined in the fight against climate change and used the program’s website — www.inconvenientyouth.org — to learn more about the climate crisis, share the actions they are taking, and connect with other teen leaders.

Former Vice President Al Gore, Chairman of the Alliance for Climate Protection, helped Mary Doerr (only 16 years old at the time) found Inconvenient Youth in 2008. Vice President Gore said this about the program:

“Inconvenient Youth is built on the belief that teens can help lead efforts to solve the climate crisis. It will give this generation – which has a unique stake in this issue – a chance to organize and exchange ideas with other young people who want to do their part to address the climate crisis. Perhaps most importantly, this initiative was inspired by youth and shaped by youth with their unique viewpoint guiding it forward.”

Inconvenient Youth gives teens a platform to make their voice heard and take the lead in solving the climate crisis. Led by its all-youth Advisory Board, this amazing group of teens have risen to the challenge. By helping teens join together and taking action, Inconvenient Youth is proving that the solution to the climate crisis is within our reach.

Click here for more information on how to join us. Be Inconvenient!

This is a guest post by Khushali Upadhyay

Khushali is a 17 year-old senior in high school from New Jersey. She is active in the climate movement in her local community as a leader of the “Rutherford Green Team.” She was trained by former Vice President Al Gore as a Presenter for The Climate Project and is part of the Inconvenient Youth Advisory Board.

Last fall, I attended a concert and environmental expo in New Jersey. Long time activist, folk singer Pete Seeger attended, along with Rep. Steve Rothman (NJ-9) who also participated. At the environmental expo, there were booths from organizations that are related to the wetlands such as the Hackensack River Keeper, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, Audubon, and the organization that I am affiliated with, the Rutherford Green Team.

Over 1000 people showed up to participate in this convention. For my part, I gave presentations at the Green Team booth. The booths were mostly focused on the ecological consequences of climate change. There were also a few environmentalists by profession in the audience and it was very interesting to hear about their work in relation to the issue.

I think the reason my presentations were successful was that I was one of the youngest people there. When people see youth taking action for a cause, it gives them hope or even inspiration. I felt that people were actually willing to listen to me because of my age. When comparing this to my previous presentations which weren’t affiliated with a specific event or organization, I think this one was better because it wasn’t “preaching to the choir” as much. Some people I spoke to were there only for the concert and did not really care about climate change. If I was able to teach them something new or make them more aware of the issue, I think my goal was met.

Keep up the great work Khushali!

Awesome news! We won an award for our website! The full story is below, but I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU! IY is a community, both on and off the web, and it’s you, our members, who make us what we are. So, thanks — we couldn’t have won without you!

The story:

Inconvenient Youth Wins International Web Award

Inconvenient Youth (IY) has won a Silver W3 Award for its interactive environmental awareness website, http://www.inconvenientyouth.org. IY aims to engage youth in proactive and educational activities to confront the harmful effects of climate change. Inconvenient Youth is an online forum where visitors can create user profiles and share their ideas and actions.

The Silver W3 Award winning website, built by Nashville’s MMA Creative, was created to encourage youth to participate in the global climate change conversation. Users can post ideas and share stories about how they are getting involved in the movement.

The W3 Awards honor creative excellence on the web. Now in its fifth year, the W3 Awards received over 3,000 entries. The entries, submitted by companies all over the world, are judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts and are scored on a 10-point scale. Winners receive Gold, Silver or Best in Show awards.

- Grant

By Alexa Boghosian

The summer of my freshman year of high school, I volunteered at the California Science Center “Cool Globes” exhibit.  My job was to provide information and tours to elementary school students who were on field trips to the exhibit. However, I quickly began to notice that the majority of the kids who passed through the exhibit had very little environmental literacy.  Therefore, I began a program called The GreenTeens to begin to fulfill my community’s needs.

The GreenTeens provide environmental education for elementary school students in Los Angeles schools. Through a curriculum created and taught by students for students, the GreenTeens promote environmental literacy, inspire students to take action, make behavioral changes, and become green leaders in their communities. Additionally, GreenTeens work with schools to initiate school-wide environmental campaigns relevant to each school community’s needs.  Watch us in action in this video: The GreenTeens at work

Just last spring, The GreenTeens won a grant of $2,500 from the Alliance for Climate Education to fund the project, making the program available to schools for free.  Now, the GreenTeens are in action!  We are currently visiting 3rd Street School and will start the program next week at Vine Street Elementary!

Already, the effect we are having on these kids is visible. The other day, for example, a girl who was participating in the program told me about how she and her mom went to the grocery store. As the mom was reaching for plastic bags, the girl stopped her and informed her that they could take the groceries home in the canvas bag she had made that day during the GreenTeens program! Not only are we affecting how these kids think, but they also affect their families, and ultimately, their communities, in one big multiplier effect.

One of the GreenTeens’ major goals is to expand the volunteer aspect of the program to other high schools to not only increase environmental literacy across multiple communities, but also to empower teens to take action by providing leadership opportunities for them within the green movement.

We provide a detailed curriculum, set-up steps, timelines, and lots of advice to each branch!

If you are interested in starting a GreenTeens branch at your own school, please
email volunteer@thegreenteens.org to request more information or request a Branch Application.

Honestly, anything is possible with effort.  You can impact people, you can impact the world, and it starts by raising your voice and taking action.

Join the GreenTeens, raise your voice, and help your community raise theirs!

Alexa Boghosian
Founder/President of The GreenTeens